The Magician's Assistant

[18] Cornelious Returns

          My blood turned to ice. Pure, churning ice.

          “Someone, help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, slamming my hands against the windows.

          “Are you forgetting about my mind talents so quickly? I can change what people see…What people think…What people see me as. As of now, you are a dog to the eyes of others. A yipping one, to be exact. They are not concerned about you. If anything, they would like for you to shut up. Please do, so that I can explain.”

          “Get me out, now! Oh God, this is too much to take!” I screamed, slamming against the windows in one last futile attempt.

          “Stupid girl, will you listen to me?” Cornelious grabbed my face in his hands and jerked my head so that it faced him. His lack of contractions reminded me of the first time we met. He never shortened his words.

          “What?” I screamed, near hysterics. “What do you want with me? And don’t touch me!” I slapped his hand away with as much force as I could muster. The distance between us was as large as possible, considering my body was virtually attached to the side of his vehicle.

          “Rachel, honestly. Stop acting so… juvenile. I just need to speak with you,” Cornelious put enough conviction in his voice that I almost believed him. His words were so calm and precise.

          That’s when I realized what he was doing. I slapped my hands over my ears abruptly. “Stop playing with my mind! This is not happening right now. Please… just leave me alone. Let me go and I won’t say a word.”

          I was too far into my hysterics to even feel embarrassed about my whimpering.

          Cornelious looked up to the ceiling of his car, shaking his head in irritation. “Look, I am not going to hurt you,” he said. “Just shut your mouth for one second.”

          My sniveling halted.

          “Thank you,” he sighed, reclining more easily in his car seat. “Now what I am about to tell you is crucial. And I never make trips like this. Consider yourself…special,” he said dryly, though a sparkle touched his eyes.

          My fingers inched towards the car lock without me realizing.

          “You are one of a kind, Rachel,” he told me. “You do not even realize your talents. You would be a valuable member to our…branch of work.”

          “What?” I sniffed, “Are you in a gang or something?”

          Cornelious chuckled lowly. “I suppose I could be labeled as part of a gang.” His words were scaring me in the darkest ways. I was shivering, and it wasn’t from the nighttime air.

          My fingers rested on top of the lock. “Go on,” I urged.

          “You need to pay attention to me,” he growled, thrusting his hand in my face. “That means to remove your dirty hands from the car lock!”

          It wouldn’t budge anyways.

          “Please stop yelling at me!” I moaned in return, slamming my hands over my ears in an attempt to block everything out.

          “I am trying to tell you something important and all you can think of is escape!” Cornelious glared at me as he shouted those words.

          “I can’t deal with this,” I screamed, slapping my hands against the window. My sweaty hand left an imprint against the window, outlining my fingers and palm.

          A muffled voice from outside the vehicle stunned me. “Rachel?”

          It took a few seconds for me to recover. “William!” I screamed loudly, slamming my palms against the window. “William, in here! In the car! Help me!”

          I shouted out, only to be muffled by Cornelious’s hand. “He can only hear howling. You are a dog to everyone’s eyes, you must remember.” Cornelious assured me, though anxiety was evident in his features. He started up the vehicle, bringing the engine to a loud roar.

          “William!” I screamed, slamming my hands against the windows again. With sudden determination, I whipped my shoes off of my feet and slammed them as hard as I could against the window. The glass shattered on impact and I made a solid effort to climb out as Cornelious grabbed my waist and reversed from the abandoned lot.

          I saw William’s worried face staring at the scene unfolding against him. His eyebrows were pinned upwards in anxiety, unsure of what he was witnessing. William looked to be arguing with someone to his left, flinging his arms out in desperation. To his right, Johnny stood in anxiety. As if deciding to do something that would forever label him as a psychotic, William tossed his arms forward and suddenly the windshield shattered. Cornelious sat there, stupefied.

          Cornelious was at a brief loss, shattering the dog illusion for a fraction of a second. The only reason I knew that was because I felt a heaviness suddenly release off of my body, and then slam back down ten times stronger.

          That was enough time for William to spot me, shake his head out, and alert Johnny in a loud voice. With desperate hands, Johnny heaved the door open, practically tearing it off of its hinges. William then grabbed my panicked body and yanked me out of the moving car.

          Cornelious leered over William, a foreboding expression crossing his eyes. And just as soon as we both spotted it, it was gone, and so was Cornelious. He vanished like the wind.

          Looking up into William’s eyes, I succumbed to my sudden fatigue and clung onto him with desperation. I trusted him to bring me to safety. Somehow, I knew he would find a way. Answers would be expected later on, that was for sure.